Just for fun...26 vs. 29

I know this has been posted many times previously...but here's a couple comparison pics of Hans Dampfs in 26 and 29 sizes. XT 26 wheels are 21mm internal and Flow EX are just over 25mm. It certainly is easy to see why 29s feel so much better rolling over the chunk.

I think it's quite interesting how some people just can't make a 29er work for them, and stick with the 26er. I rode a 29er and knew I couldn't go back to a 26er, and there are many others who feel the same. To me it shows that more options being out there (650b now) may ultimately make more people happy on a bike. That's the point, right? Ride what makes you happy. But really - that's the point of comment. Interesting the differences in people....

what if you are surfing 10m high waves in Hawaii...would a short board work well? I know nothing about surfing btw.

10ft waves are short board if you have skills. 20 ft would be a big wave board, not a long board. I guess that makes my AM bike like a short board and my DH like a big gun.
Most people learn on a long board cause they are easy to stand up on, and they are used for smaller waves for the most part.

I grew up in BMX, never been a roadie. I still jump 20+ and 30+ footers. A niner is like getting on a beach cruiser vs. a BMX bike for me. I love the bumps and ruts and look for the hardest line, not try to make it easier. At 43, I still ride like a 20 year old and just don't need a big wheel for.....wait,.why do you guys ride niners again???

10ft waves are short board if you have skills. 20 ft would be a big wave board, not a long board. I guess that makes my AM bike like a short board and my DH like a big gun.
Most people learn on a long board cause they are easy to stand up on, and they are used for smaller waves for the most part.

I grew up in BMX, never been a roadie. I still jump 20+ and 30+ footers. A niner is like getting on a beach cruiser vs. a BMX bike for me. I love the bumps and ruts and look for the hardest line, not try to make it easier. At 43, I still ride like a 20 year old and just don't need a big wheel for.....wait,.why do you guys ride niners again???

I like hardtails for their lighter weight and pedaling efficiency gains. The 29" wheel gives me nearly the same ride comfort as a 4" 26er, plus it tends to go over the slow technical rocks better. The manuevering difference is largely due to longer chainstays on 29" bikes, but a 29er HT has nearly the same CS length as any 26er FS.

I don't see myself ever getting a 29er FS. But I'd be happy to supplant my 29er race HT with a 26" FS with 120 mm travel or so.

I gotta try the SB95 and the Pivot 650B.(i think its a pivot)
Just haven't found one i can shred on yet, and don't expect to.
Uphills are easy when you are in shape, BTW.
I stand and grind all day long....

Nice try,
Ride about 100 miles a week on my AM, 1/2 of those miles are uphill.

Now, back to the question.
Why do you guys like 9er's?

I think its hilarious when a guy wearing tights says to me, "Oh, you still have a 26er" I just think- Wow, no clue. To each their own.

I am faster over rough terrain with less effort on a bike with 29" wheels vs. a comparable 26" wheel. Notice I said "I am faster" not "everyone". I actually find I can climb a gear or two higher and faster on a 29 vs. 26 due to the better roll-over angle and greater momentum carried. On flats it feels like there's an electric motor assist on your bike with the 29. I didn't believe it until I tried it...have no issues with 26" wheels and still have them in my stable.

My hunch is that 26" will largely be replaced by 27.5" over the next decade due to the big wheel momentum in the current marketplace. Whether or not that's warranted...the tide will go where the money is. Now...a 160-170mm 27.5 FS...I could go for that in a few years once the new format is ironed out.

I am faster over rough terrain with less effort on a bike with 29" wheels vs. a comparable 26" wheel. Notice I said "I am faster" not "everyone". I actually find I can climb a gear or two higher and faster on a 29 vs. 26 due to the better roll-over angle and greater momentum carried. On flats it feels like there's an electric motor assist on your bike with the 29. I didn't believe it until I tried it...have no issues with 26" wheels and still have them in my stable.

My hunch is that 26" will largely be replaced by 27.5" over the next decade due to the big wheel momentum in the current marketplace. Whether or not that's warranted...the tide will go where the money is. Now...a 160-170mm 27.5 FS...I could go for that in a few years once the new format is ironed out.

I could go for that too. The niner is like a big sail out front for me. Can't imagine riding it like I ride now, although I have seen it done in videos with pro DH guys at the controls. Funny, I just got back from a 5 hour ride and it was uphill the whole way. The downs go by so fast. Rocky Peak for those who know California trails. It is just like the name says, rocky. Did Chumash trail too, twice and a bunch of side trails. The whole thing is a technical climb (if you don't take the well-established easy lines), but not the hardest by any means. I just don't see the point in sacrificing the fun to climb a bit faster or make it easier.

I'm not concerned with being the fastest out there anyway, but I usually am. Its more like style and flow are more important. A 650B might be a future purchase, but set on a new 7" trail/AM bike around 30 lbs this January and probably going with the Uzzi. One of the Redbull Rampage guys just did his line on a 27.5 and said it was the best ever. Maybe it will be the best of both worlds, but like you say, until they get it right with a long travel AM design, I'm waiting on the 650...

How exactly do you see that from those pictures? I can see that the 29 is a bit bigger than the 26, but I'm curious how you spot the "roll over chunk-ability"..

The taller the wheel, the shallower the angle of impact with a given object. Thus, the taller wheel wants to roll over the object easier instead of "stalling" on said object. Think skateboard wheel vs. monster truck tire as an extreme. The difference in this angle between 26 and 29 is small (I don't have the actual geometry) but is quite noticeable on rough terrain, in my opinion.

I could go for that too. The niner is like a big sail out front for me. Can't imagine riding it like I ride now, although I have seen it done in videos with pro DH guys at the controls. Funny, I just got back from a 5 hour ride and it was uphill the whole way. The downs go by so fast. Rocky Peak for those who know California trails. It is just like the name says, rocky. Did Chumash trail too, twice and a bunch of side trails. The whole thing is a technical climb (if you don't take the well-established easy lines), but not the hardest by any means. I just don't see the point in sacrificing the fun to climb a bit faster or make it easier.

I'm not concerned with being the fastest out there anyway, but I usually am. Its more like style and flow are more important. A 650B might be a future purchase, but set on a new 7" trail/AM bike around 30 lbs this January and probably going with the Uzzi. One of the Redbull Rampage guys just did his line on a 27.5 and said it was the best ever. Maybe it will be the best of both worlds, but like you say, until they get it right with a long travel AM design, I'm waiting on the 650...

If you're "surfing" an Uzzi it may be difficult to adapt to a 29er. One of the Lenz Sport bikes would probably get you as close as anything. I am waiting on a Transition Covert 29 frame which is along the same lines. I am coming from a Yeti ASR 7 but my riding style is wheels on the ground speed and technical stuff. I don't need huge travel but the ability to fly through and conquer technical terrain is a premium. The bigger wheel just makes this easier, thus I can push my boundaries farther, thus...more fun.

One thing is certain, it's a great time to be a mountain biker with so many options of ultra capable bikes.

The Uzzi is still a 26 and has a more modern geometry than my bikes 5 year old design. They can be built to about 30lbs for AM, or beefed up for FR & DH at aroiund 36lbs. A slacker head angle will make it climb over rough better as a bonus, but more importantly be more stable on the steep stuff going down. When i say steep, I mean straight down. I have ridden plenty of niners, but never a 650b, so keeping eye out for a chance to really ride one. Never gonna have a 9er, though.

At 6'-3" my short board is 6-4, my big wave board was a 7'6" and never owned a long board, but learned on an 8-0 when I was 10. A long board for my size now would be 9' to 9'-6" or more....

quote:
I'm so glad that I'm able to think for myself and make my own decisions and not have to convert everyone around me to my way of thinking just so I can feel that I belong.
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Which is why I asked. I don't see anyone doing anything impressive on the 9ers that any other wheel size can't do. Just don't get why they are pushed so hard in bike shops, and sold to guys who are 5 feet tall who would probably do much better on an appropriate size bike.

Why do I ride a 29er? I ride one because I'm a tall guy, and when I got on one, it felt better than a 26er to me. I'm pretty much just an old cross country guy, I get a little air, and I like to go fast. I get more traction on the 29er, and I can't say that I understand people who think 29ers don't or can't be made to go around turns like a 26er will - I'm sure you CAN turn a 26er tighter than a 29er, but the guys lecturing me about stuff like that locally can't keep up with me in the tightest most technical trail in this area.

I ride a 29er because it feels better to me than a 26er, which is the same reason that you ride a 26er instead of a 29er, it feels better than you. Why do you feel the need to display your smug (and misplaced) superiority in the tone of your posed question? Why not just understand that people will ride different bikes. People will use different tools to build trails. As long as the trails get built, and people enjoy riding them, who cares what they were built with or what they ride them on?

The taller the wheel, the shallower the angle of impact with a given object. Thus, the taller wheel wants to roll over the object easier instead of "stalling" on said object. Think skateboard wheel vs. monster truck tire as an extreme. The difference in this angle between 26 and 29 is small (I don't have the actual geometry) but is quite noticeable on rough terrain, in my opinion.

^This

It's the same reason why the 4x4 rock crawlers use 38"+ tires to get over the technical stuff. More traction, better angle of attack. The down side is added weight and maneuverability at speed. It's not a set in stone law though, I've seen Suzuki Samurais climb much of the same stuff with 30" tires. It is a different experience.

The same goes for MTBs. You'll be able to do just about the same stuff on any type of bike. It comes down to preference. There isn't a right or wrong answer.

Just because you can't hear them scream doesn't mean they don't. Save a plant, eat meat.

29ers bikes are a great novelty, many big companies invest a lot of money but I have never believed in bikes perfect "everywhere". I prefer to use a 26 and a cx, I choose by destination.
I also think that 29ers are a good idea to let poeple spend their money.

Why are people so obsessed about picking just one wheel size? It's good to have options and pick the ideal one for whatever conditions and preferences you have. In the automotive industry, you got wide range of widths: 135, 195, 235mm, etc.; wide range of diameters: 560, 650, 800mm, etc.; different rim sizes: 14, 15, 16, 18", etc.... and they measure things like rolling circumference.

It was the bike industry that was sort of resistant to all the extra sizes/standards in the past. They gave reasons related to manufacturing issues and profitability, but now they don't seem to be so modest in pushing new standards and proprietary stuff. What's changed since then? If we keep moving forward, will we see something more akin to the automotive industry? What are the downsides? My only worry was the increase in prices. People were accustomed to finding sales and paying $20-40 in the past, but now are reasoning $40-60 per tire is a good deal for high performance German made tires or whatever, due to MSRPs reaching around $60-100. Maybe the same could be said for bikes, with people accustomed to paying $1200-2500 for complete bikes, who are now reasoning $3000-4500 ain't so bad with MSRPs reaching $6000-10000 on top high performance bikes.

Why are people so obsessed about picking just one wheel size? It's good to have options and pick the ideal one for whatever conditions and preferences you have. In the automotive industry, you got wide range of widths: 135, 195, 235mm, etc.; wide range of diameters: 560, 650, 800mm, etc.; different rim sizes: 14, 15, 16, 18", etc.... and they measure things like rolling circumference.

It was the bike industry that was sort of resistant to all the extra sizes in the past. They gave reasons related to manufacturing issues and profitability, but now they don't seem to be so modest in pushing new standards and proprietary stuff. What's changed since then? If we keep moving forward, will we see something more akin to the automotive industry? What are the downsides? My only worry was the increase in prices. People were accustomed to finding sales and paying $20-40 in the past, but now are reasoning $40-60 per tire is a good deal for high performance German made tires or whatever, due to MSRPs reaching around $60-100. Maybe the same could be said for bikes, with people accustomed to paying $1200-2500 for complete bikes, who are now reasoning $3000-4500 ain't so bad with MSRPs reaching $6000-10000 on top high performance bikes.

Trust me, I sorely wish I had a bike on which to mount a set of 27.5 HDs. I have no issues with all three wheel sizes. For the riding I do a 29" wheel is amazing. But, darn it if the 26" bike isn't still just as fun as it ever was! I will tell my wife I need to evaluate the "funability" of a 27.5 as well.

Had a 26" bike, rode my brothers 29" bike and it was a really noticeable difference, seemed both faster and smoother.
To be fair, his was a much nicer bike than mine - not sure if the difference in bike quality made the difference or the 26 vs 29.
All I know right now is, I have a 29" bike and really enjoy it. Best? Can't say, and don't care, it is a nice bike and a lot of fun.

Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
-- Robert Heinlein --

I have both and ride them both regularly. 26er hard tail and a 29er full suspension. The 26er is more fun to ride for me but my back prefers the 29er on rooty trails. I feel faster on the 26er but my friends say I'm faster on the 29er. There are tight lines I can take on the 26er that I can't quite take on the 29er. However there are rooty spots I can stay seated on the 29er that still feel better then standing on the 26er. Tire grip on the 29er is better. The 26er is lighter and it accelerates faster. I like having both and getting to choose.